If you were recently injured and required extensive medical treatment, you may be wondering whether the person responsible for your injuries is liable.  Like many people, you may be receiving frequent bills and notices from your healthcare provider.  Depending on the circumstances, you may not have an insurance policy to fall back on.  Whether you can bring suit against the party responsible for your injuries is a complex question, and often requires the guidance of an experienced attorney.

First, to bring suit in civil court, you must be able to show that the responsible party acted negligently.  Accidents happen, and sometimes no one is to blame for the resulting injury.  However, accidents are also often caused by careless or reckless behavior.  Careless or reckless behavior that falls below the threshold of criminal activity, but results in harm to another is actionable in a Florida civil court.  The value of your claim is termed damages. Damages are awarded in a civil case for medical bills, lost income, future wages, loss of a loved one, and sometimes punitive damages are awarded for particularly egregious behavior.

However, note that contributing to your own injury will reduce or completely bar your recovery.  This means that an award of $100,000 will be reduced by $20,000 if a court determines that you were 20% responsible for your own injury.  Contributory negligence may have the effect of nullifying your entire claim.

Bryan W. Crews is a personal injury attorney practicing in Orlando, Florida.  He handles a number of personal injury matters including dog bites, slips and falls, assault and battery, defamation, car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and work-related injuries.  For a free evaluation of your claim, contact Bryan W. Crews today, your Orlando personal injury attorney.  Each case is different, and results are not guaranteed.

The type of accident will dictate how your case is handled.  For example, if you were hurt on the job, then your claim may be covered under Florida’s worker compensation laws.  These laws exist to protect workers, and require certain employers to carry insurance that will cover medical bills and lost wages should you be injured on the job.  The tradeoff is that this usually eliminates your right to sue for negligence, and further recovery for pain and suffering.  While this legislation creates some efficiency, the worker’s compensation laws can be complex, and not every employer follows the rules.  If you were injured on the job, contact your Orlando personal injury attorney today at Bryan W. Crews and Associates.

Florida is a no-fault state.  Motorists are required by law to carry personal injury insurance.  Like workers compensation laws, this legislation is an attempt at efficiency designed to free up court dockets.  Before you can bring suit in a car accident case, your damages must reach a certain threshold.  This means that many car accident injuries are resolved through mandated personal injury insurance.  However, if your injuries are severe, you have suffered a significant or permanent loss of an important bodily function, permanent injury with a reasonable degree of medical probability, or death, you may have grounds to sue.

If you or a loved one have been injured, please do not hesitate to contact Bryan W. Crews and Associates, your Orlando personal injury attorneys.